Diversity and adaptation of shelters in transitional settlements for IDPs in Afghanistan

The diversity of shelters used in transitional settlements for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Herat, Afghanistan is described. The information is based on a field survey undertaken in March 2002 and highlights the adaptation techniques, which IDPs undertake to improve any provided shelter. Potential areas for improvement are indicated; for example, the possibility for using insulated, demountable liners to prevent cold-related deaths without sacrificing shelter flexibility along with the likely need for better agency coordination of the shelter responses they provide. The wider context in which the technical recommendations would be implemented must also be considered. Such issues include agency resources, political impediments to providing the desired option, and the preference of many IDPs that the best shelter would be their home.     

Properties of agricultural aerosol released during wheat harvest threshing, plowing and sowing

This study shows for the first time a chemical and morphological characterization of agricultural aerosols released during three important agricultural operations： threshing, plowing and sowing. The field campaigns were carried out in the eastern part of the Po Valley, Italy, in summer and autumn 2009. The aerosol particles were sampled on quartz fiber filters and polytetrafluoroethylene membranes in order to allow Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry （ICP-MS） analysis and Scanning Electron Microscopy equipped with an Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometer （SEM-EDS） investigations, respectively. The organic carbon mass concentrations were measured with a Sunset Laboratory Dual-Optical Organic Carbone/Elemental Carbon （OCEC） Aerosol analyzer. The morphological and chemical analyses by SEM-EDS allowed recognizing four main particle classes： organic, silica, calcite and clay minerals. The organic particles contribute to both fine and coarse aerosol fractions up to ca. 50% for all three agricultural activities. This was also confirmed by OCEC analysis for fine fraction. Most of the agricultural aerosols, about 60%, were single particles and the remaining 40% were agglomerations of particles. The ICP-MS results showed that threshing and plowing produce more aerosol particles than sowing, which was characterized by important amounts of clay minerals produced from land soils.     

Multivariate tools to investigate the spatial contaminant distribution in a highly anthropized area (Gulf of Naples,Italy)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The Gulf of Naples located in a high anthropized coastal area is subjected to an infrastructural intervention for the installation of a submarine...